Oil Change

[Large Arbor]

This may be a silly question but I am set to do my first oil change on the cobra. Will all the oil drain from the oil cooler when I drain it to the pan or is there any other connections I should brake loose?

Phil

[patrickt]

Don't do anything aside from removing the drain plug and unscrewing the filter. Don't blow out the lines with compressed air, don't disconnect the oil cooler and shake it over an open sewer, don't drop the pan and wipe it out with paper towels, don't do any of these things. Just remove the oil plug, remove the filter, let it drain thoroughly, fill the new filter up with oil, put it back on, and put the plug back in and fill 'er up.

[Large Arbor]

Thanks, thats the advice I was looking for.

Phil

[601HP]

Originally Posted by Large Arbor

This may be a silly question but I am set to do my first oil change on the cobra. Will all the oil drain from the oil cooler when I drain it to the pan or is there any other connections I should brake loose?

Phil

Hey Phil,
No, the oil will not drain from the front hoses and cooler if just the pan plug is removed.

I did a complete draining once. I removed the oil pan plug, removed the oil cooler, and drained the hoses. It was a nuisance and messy.

My capacity is about 11 quarts with Aviaid pan, large filter, hoses and cooler. Removing just the oil pan plug and changing the filter leaves less than 1 qt. of used oil left in my system. I can live with that. Now......if we're talking kidney dialysis, I'd opt for the complete flush.

David

[AL427SBF]

Originally Posted by patrickt

...Just remove the oil plug, remove the filter, let it drain thoroughly, fill the new filter up with oil, put it back on, and put the plug back in and fill 'er up.

If it were me I would put the plug back in, fill the new filter up with oil and put it back on, then fill 'er up but that's just me. With a oil filter relocation kit and my age, I just don't move that fast these days

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by AL427SBF

If it were me I would put the plug back in, fill the new filter up with oil and put it back on, then fill 'er up but that's just me. With a oil filter relocation kit and my age, I just don't move that fast these days

You know, the only other tip I could give for a noob is to not leave the keys in the car while the oil is draining in the pan and you wander off for a sandwich. Over the last 35 years I know of three examples where the car was started/run by a 3rd person while the pan was empty, thus destroying the engine.

[Z-linkCobra]

These guys are forgetting one key element. Maybe you already know maybe you don't. Get it up to temperature before you change the oil. You can let it cool a little obviously but don't go out first thing in the morning and change the oil without at least a run around the block or two.

You want the oil well blended and anything that would have settled out of the oil during a sitting spell to be suspended in the oil so that you remove it along with the oil. Moisture is something else that you want to get out as well. On most engines if you pull the valve cover on a cold motor it has cottage cheese clinging to the under side of the valve cover. Its nothing but moisture but put some heat in it and you will get that out of there.

[AL427SBF]

True, and if you have a magnet built into the plug - clean before reinstall. If metal particulates from normal wear & tear are a concern, buy a stick on magnet for your oil filter.